Gelston sanford



(No Model.)

G. SANFORD.

MAGHINB FOR OBTAINING FIBERS.

Patented Sept. 26, 1882.

fin eavew:

.. UNrrnn STATES- PATENT Orrrea.

GELSTON SANFORD, OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO THE SANFORD UNIVER- SAL FIBRECOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MAOHINE FOR OBTAINING FIBERS.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 265,154, datedSeptember 26, 1882.

Application filed J uly 5, 1882.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GELSTON SANFORD, 0f the city of Brooklyn, in thecounty of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Machines for Obtaining Fibers, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to machines for obtaining fibers from leaves,plants, or other fibrous or fiber-producin g materials, and it isapplicable both to machines for working or operating upon materials in agreen state with water or in a-dry state without water, also for thepurpose of softening fibers which havebeen previously cleaned.

My invention consists essentially in the combination,with a stationaryhollow bed or concavehaving a grooved, ribbed, or roughened surface, ofa grooved or roughened cylinder arranged in said concave, and havingboth a slow rotary movement to draw the materials in between it and theconcave and a more rapid longitudinal movement or end chase forproducing a rubbing action on the materials between it and the concave.The cylinder may be roughened by means of circumferential grooves, andit may also be grooved longitudinally to better enable it to draw inmaterials and carry or feed them through the machine.

My invention likewise consists in a novel combination of devices forimparting the necessary rotary and longitudinal movements to thecylinder, hereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 represents a longitudinal verticalsection of my improved machine. Fig. 2 represents atransverse verticalsection thereof, and Fig. 3 represents a plan.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

A designates a tank,which may be supplied with water by any suitablemeans, and is provided with an overflow, a.

B designates a stationary concave or hollow bed arranged in said tank.This bed is grooved or ribbed transversely to its length to give it aroughened surface, or it may be roughened in any other suitable way. Inthis example of my invention the bed or concave is formed by a number oflongitudinally-arranged pieces (N 0 model.)

or staves supported on bearers b in the ends of the tank A, and securedat a liitledistance apart, so as to form spaces 0 between the severalpieces or staves, which afford provision for the entrance of water fromthe tank. Instead of being formed of staves, the bed or concave mighthave a continuous surface and be perforated to provide for the admissionof water to it. .Theseveral staves or pieces of the bed or concave B maybe bolted fast to the bearers b, or they may be supported .upon springs,so as to yield slightly under considerable pressure.

C designates a cylinder arranged above and in the bed or concave upona'shat't, O". This cylinder may have its covering or periphery composedof any suitable material, roughened in any suitable manner. In thisexample of my invention the roughening is produced by grooving orribbing the cylinder circumferentially, and it may also have severallongitudinal grooves, 01, made at some distanceapartin its periphery.

D designates a feed-board at one side of the machine, from whichfiber-producin g materials mayrbe fed between the cylinder and bed orconcave, and the cylinder should have a slow rotary motion to draw,feed, or carry the materials through the machine. The grooves d enablethe cylinder to catch the materials more a readily and draw thempositively through the machine.

In addition to its rotary movement, the cylinder O has arapidlongitudinal movement or end chase imparted to it, and this endwisemovement produces a rubbing action on the materials and tends to formthem into rolls,

which action is very eflective in separating the fiber from the wastematerials, and accomplishes the desired resultwith but little waste.

The machine may be used either for treatin g green materials or fibersin a dry state for softening them, and in the latter case no water wouldbe used in the tank A.

If desirable, a pair of feed-rollers may be arranged on or adjacent tothe feed-board D, to carrying the materials forward and present them tothe cylinder.

It is obvious that various forms of mechair ism may be employed forimparting the two movements to the cylinder. 1 have here represented butone form of mechanism, which is very desirable. The cylinder-shaft ismounted near one end in a bearing, 0, wherein it may turn and slidelongitudinally, and at the other end it has fitted upon it a worm-wheel,j, which is itself adapted to rotate in a bearing, 0, wherein it is heldagainst longitudinal movement. The shaft G is caused to turn with thewheel f by means of a feather or spline, g, on the shaft fitting agroove in the wheel; but the shaft may move freely endwise.

E designates a driving-shaft, which has upon it a screw or worm, h,engaging with the wheel f, and which is adapted to turn in bearings hfor imparting a rotary motion to the cylinder 0. On one end of the shaftE is a pulley, E, over which a belt may be passed for driving the shaft.At the opposite end of the machine is a rock-shaft, F, mounted inbearings t. The

shaft F is provided with a down wardly-extending arm,j, and twoupwardly-extending arms, k, and the latter arms are connected by linksor rods l with a loose collar, m, secured upon the shaft 0- between twofixed collars, n. Upon the driving-shaft E is a crank or crank-wheel, G,which is connected by a rod, II, with the arm j of the rock-shaft F. Bythe above-described mechanism the cylinder 0 is caused. to make twolongitudinal movements while it is turned a very small fraction of aturn.

If desired, springs may be placed above the bearings for thecylinder-shaft, so'as to hold it down and cause it to act on thematerials with a yielding pressure.

This machine may be employed with advantage for treating asbestus forthe purpose of producing fibers therefrom.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a stationary hollow bed or concave having agrooved, ribbed, or roughened surface, of a grooved, ribbed, 0rroughened cylinder arranged in said bed or concave, and having both arotary movement and a longitudinal movement or end chase, substantiallyas described.

2. The combination, with the stationary bed or concave and the cylinder,of a worm-wheel and worm or screw for rotating the cylinder, a crankupon the worm or screw shaft, and devices for imparting a reciprocatingmotion to the cylinder from said crank, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the stationary bed or concave, groovedtransversely, of the cylinder 0, grooved circumferentially, and alsoprovided with the longitudinal grooves 11, and having both a rotarymovement and a longitudinal movement or end chase, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination of the bed or concave B, the cylinder 0 and its shaft0, the wormwheel f, the driving-shaft E, having the worm or screw it andthe crank G, the rock-shaft F, provided with arms'j and k, the links orrods l, and the connecting-rod H, substantially as described;

GELSTON SANFORD.

Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, ED. L. MORAN.

